Pop-up COVID vaccination clinics in Washtenaw County’s most vulnerable communities

By Stone Andrews On Mar 17, 2021

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – Several COVID-19 vaccination clinics are moving to areas of the county hardest hit by the virus.

Washtenaw County Health Department is working with local partners to host several pop-up vaccination sites for COVID-19 in areas of the county with a high index of social vulnerability, the county said in a press release.

Clinics are offered in various church and community facilities, for example in the Ypsilanti High School, in the St. Francis Assisi Congregation in Ann Arbor, in the Second Baptist Church in Ypsilanti or in Bethel AME in Ann Arbor.

The clinics are organized with leaders and partner organizations from the African American and Latinx communities to reach these community members as directly as possible and to increase vaccination rates, according to the health department.

The doses come from an additional 2,500 Moderna vaccines that the Washtenaw County Health Department received as part of the Michigan Department of Health’s Community Outreach COVID-19 pilot project (MDHHS).

These doses are in addition to and will be given to the health department’s normal weekly vaccine assignments, and the next week, according to authorities.

The identified census areas for the pilot include parts of the east side of the county and parts of Pittsfield Township and Ann Arbor at zip codes 48197, 48198, 48108 and 48105.

In Washtenaw County, 31% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 come from zip codes 48197 and 48198 on the east side of the county. While African Americans make up 12% of the county’s population, they represent 27% of COVID-19-related hospital stays and 22% of deaths, according to the county. Similarly, the health department reports that members of the Latin American and Hispanic communities make up 5% of the local population but 6% of local cases.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for all of us, but some areas and communities in Washtenaw County have been harder hit,” said Jimena Loveluck, health officer for the Department of Health. “We are committed to ensuring equitable access to vaccines for our African American and Latinx community members, and we are grateful that the vaccine provides additional pop-up clinics in the community.”

The pop-up clinics are designed to remove barriers to vaccines for communities most vulnerable to the harmful effects of contracting the virus. By embedding vaccination efforts in local neighborhoods, the health department hopes to make the recordings more accessible.

Information and materials will be available in multiple languages, as well as via phone lines and community members. Trusted faith and community leaders, as well as health care providers known to community members, will help promote the pop-ups and schedule appointments to remove barriers related to lack of internet access or difficulties with technology.

Vaccination pop-up events are open to people aged 50 and over with illnesses or disabilities who live in high-priority areas of the county, according to the health department. For the events planned after March 22nd, the authorization is open to all persons aged 50 and over in the prioritized areas.

All vaccination events require registration to ensure adequate doses and avoid overfilling. For each location, community leaders, volunteers and employees can register directly, according to the authorities. Eligible persons can also call 734-544-6700 and select the Popup Community Clinic option or email [email protected].

The Health Department is hosting these pop-ups in partnership with Michigan Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, and community partners including the Washtenaw County Racial Equity Office, local churches, community leaders, and Packard Health. Michigan Medicine and St. Joe’s Ann Arbor also provide medical and non-medical personnel.

“We are excited to support these efforts to improve access to COVID-19 vaccinations with our community partners,” said Alonzo Lewis, president of St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. “Through such efforts, in addition to other work St. Joe’s is doing in the community to improve the fair distribution of vaccines, we hope that we can remove obstacles and continue on the path to ending this pandemic.”

Pop-up clinics currently include:

Tuesday, March 16, at St. Francis Assisi Parish, Ann Arbor, 2250 E Stadium Boulevard, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 at Ypsilanti High School, 2095 Packard Road, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drive-through format in the Shadford Field parking lot.
Monday, March 22nd at the AME Bethel in Ann Arbor, 632 N 4th Ave, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 23, at the Second Baptist Church, Ypsilanti, 301 S Hamilton St, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 24th, New Covenant Missionary Baptist at Ypsilanti, 2345 Tyler Road, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. drive-thru format.
Schedule appointments with Packard Health